Wow, just when I thought I'd seen it all. Following the success of his film "Akira", Katsuhiro Otomo brings in a spectacular film set in nineteenth century Great Britain of all places where moral philosophy and scientific progression clash over the power of industry. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Steamboy! James Ray Steam (or just Ray) is the prodigy of Europe's greatest scientific minds in all of Europe, his father Edward and grandfather Lloyd. After being gone for three years, Edawrd and Lloyd return along with some corporate officials fighting each other over the latest invention of the Steam family: the steam ball. Utilizing advanced steam-powered technology and a newly discovered source of liquid fuel, the steam ball can power the biggest and most complex of machines, potentially revolutionizing the Industrial Era. But when the machine's immense power is used to power weapons of mass destruction and many sides with differing ideals begin to bare their fangs, Ray finds himself unable to decide who is right or wrong. Will his indecision lead to the downfall of humanity? Prepare to go full steam ahead! First off, the animation is absolutely incredible. It's not hard to imagine why this film took ten years to make (yes, TEN YEARS) because everything in this world is so well detailed, from the buildings to the machines to even the characters themselves, who move quite fluidly. The story is fairly complex and the are lots of good points between the philosophies of James' father and grandfather as well as the points of view of other characters. I also like how there's no real villain other than the people who profit from weaponry. Character development is also done good as some the characters learn from the mistakes they make and generally become better, more humble people, such as the case of both Edward and the female lead Scarlett. The action scenes are pretty intense as there's something new coming in every few minutes or so and the dark moments work very well.I don't know about the Japanese dubbing, but what truly impressed me was the English voice cast. Anna Paquin shockingly does the voice of our protagonist Ray and does a surprisingly good job providing a boy-like voice for the character. Patrick Steward plays as the grandfather Lloyd and really brings out both the massive crankiness and philosophical wisdom the aging scientist provides to the story. Finally, we have Alfred Molina as Ray's father Edward and the actor nails the ambition and well-intentioned nature he has.However, there are a few nitpicks to note here. A few characters do tend to be very annoying like a few of the business men and thugs that work for the corporations. Scarlett herself starts out to be a rather spoiled and not-so-bright brat, but at least she develops into a better person. Also, there were a couple of scenes that dragged on a little, but that's a small complaint.Overall, this is one thought-provoking thrill ride you do not want to miss. I give this movie an eight for entertainment value and an extra point for all the nice little subtleties. Definitely one of the best anime I've seen and worth a watch, so check it out!

I'd heard good things about this film but was somewhat disappointed as soon as I put the disc in and found it didn't include the original Japanese language sound track as I prefer to watch my anime subbed rather than dubbed. When the film started I soon put that out of my mind and settled down to enjoy the story.The Steam family live up to their name by inventing a variety of steam powered devices, the most impressive of which is the steam-ball a metal ball the size of a football that can contain enough compressed steam to power huge machines for a long period of time. After an accident at a research centre in Alaska Lloyd and his son Eddie have a falling out and Lloyd sends the ball to his grandson James Ray Steam. Soon after the package arrives in Manchester members of the sinister O'Hara Foundation turn up claiming that it was meant to be sent to them so it could feature in the Great Exhibition in London. James flees on an exotic looking single wheel vehicle and is chased by thugs on a large traction engine... this exciting chase goes on for a while and includes trains and a Zeppelin. Ray is caught and taken to London along with the steam ball, he is shocked to discover that his father, who he believed was dead, is working for the O'Hara Foundation. Eddie explains how grandfather Lloyd went a bit mad and stole the ball, at this point Ray doesn't know who to believe.It turns out that the steam ball is one of three required to power a huge steam castle where the Foundation is hoping to sell their various steam powered weapons to anybody who has the money to but them. When word gets out and the authorities seek to search the castle the foundation deploys a wide range of steam powered weapons against them including steam-armour, tanks and even aircraft, finally the castle itself takes off leaving a swathe of destruction through London. Ray, his grandfather and the O'Hara's daughter Scarlett must stop them before London is destroyed.I thought the story was pretty good and the animation was pretty stunning throughout. I really liked the vast array of imaginative steam powered devices that appeared. The dub wasn't bad and I wouldn't have guessed that Ray was being voiced by a woman if I hadn't read it here first. The accents did seem to be the sort only had by the generic Northerners who feature in period dramas, I was half expecting somebody to say, "Ay oop, there's trouble up t' mill". If you insist on watching anime in Japanese get the directors cut, if it isn't essential this English version is still enjoyable.

Steamboy is a beautifully animated film that starts off with considerable promise but seems to loose focus in its final third. The Victorian settings are well used and the characters are fairly well defined. The film falls into fantasy/science fiction sub-genre of steam punk which basically means it's a story set in the Victorian era with a strong dose of either fantasy or science fiction which produces an alternate history to that which we actually experienced.The films protagonist is Ray Steam is a young inventor whose scientist grandfather and father are absent pursuing some great advance in steam power. After some sort of accident a package is sent to Ray by his grandfather and he quickly finds himself pursued by those who want the package. The importance of the package is apparently connected to the upcoming Great Exhibition of 1866 in London. While I won't spoil the films resolution I will say that it is unfortunately a little heavy handed and over the top. The conclusion isn't enough to spoil my overall enjoyment but it is disappointing and inconsistent.The DVD has available both the original Japanese audio with sub-titles (for the purists) and is also dubbed into English with a fairly note worthy cast. The American cast includes Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina and Patrick Stewart. The film was both directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Ôtomo who is probably best known for the blockbuster anime Akira.Although Akira is definitely a superior film it did similarly also lose direction somewhat toward the end. An impressive vision of a future Tokyo, an intriguing story and the characters got lost somewhat in the over the top resolution. Despite this drawback I still recommend 'Steamboy' and highly recommend 'Akira' for their amazing animation well realized characters and settings in addition to their story concepts. Although I feel both tried to hard to achieve a monumental conclusion that wasn't as satisfying as it could have been.

The story follows one James Ray Steam, a young boy of maybe 12 whose father and grandfather are scientists in Victorian England circa 1866. They of course work with steam power, and when they make a discovery that will greatly revolutionize the amount of power one can draw from steam, well, everyone wants to get their hands on it, from the weapons manufacturer company O'Hara to an English scientist named Stephenson. O'Hara has already kidnapped the elder Steams, so it's up to James to try to set things aright. Along the way he encounters the spoiled young heiress Scarlett, who is the sole member of the O'Hara family present and who sort of cottons to him because he's apparently the only other person in the world her age. James displays the family knack for ingenuity, and, during a violent showdown at the London Exhibition, O'Hara's new steam-powered weapons duke it out with Her Majesty's Royal Navy while James tries to rescue his grandpa.It's all very nicely designed and drawn and the attention to the Victorian setting, from clothes to architecture to the extension of plausible steam powered uses into a sci-fi realm, everything looks marvelous – even London managed to look good. There's just one glaring problem with the movie; it's merely a retread of Hiyao Miyazaki's masterpiece Laputa, from plucky boy hero to girl princess companion to a stern lesson about the excesses of technology to the Victorian design to the creepy secret agents to… ah hell, it's just a straight re-do, pretty much, omitting only the delightful Dola gang pirates. Steamboy rarely varies from the script, save that the "technology run amok" rant is more stridently but less effectively articulated (Laputa featured a chilling, thrilling sequence with a giant robot waking up and laying waste to the countryside to protect his charge; Steamboy actually has Grandpa stand there and recite the message that technology is bad in the wrong hands (and no, I didn't watch the dubbed version, I never do).Steamboy is not an awful film, but it beggars the question of why in the hell you would try to steal from (what I feel is) the greatest animated movie ever made. On its own merits Steamboy is okay, maybe worth a rental, but it could never ever hope to emerge from the shadow of its far greater predecessor; if you're at all curious about the genre or just good anime, do yourself a favor and track down a copy of Laputa; why have a Big Mac when you can have a porterhouse?